Park Chan-wook’s New Film ‘Paranmanjang’ Shot Entirely on iPhone 4

Acclaimed Korean director Park Chan-wook, famous for such films as Oldboy and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, has announced that his newest film Paranmanjang was shot entirely on Apple’s ubiquitous iPhone 4. The smaller budget film, clocking in at $133,000 and 30 minutes, will be released in Korean theaters later this month and was co-directed by his brother. Chan-wook has high praise for the unique vantage point and stylistic effect of shooting a movie with such a small device. [Yahoo]

“The new technology creates strange effects because it is new and because it is a medium the audience is used to,” Park told reporters Monday. ”There are some good points of making a movie with the iPhone as there are many people around the world who like to play and have fun with them. Compared to other movie cameras, the iPhone was good because it is light and small and because anyone can use it,” he said.

The plot of the film focuses on themes familiar to any fan of Park Chan-wook’s films, involving a man trying to transcend his current life while embroiled in a murder. The actors felt right at home as well, with the director changing lens on the iPhone like he would on any other camera. Personally, I find it very interesting for such a provocative cinematic force to embrace new methods of filmmaking that touches on our obsession with technology . The WSJ also had some info on the project, as well as the first image & poster below.

On the cinematography:

The quality of the cinematography is quite good, except for a little shakiness in the beginning. And the fact that the screen is coarse works to the film’s advantage, especially on the night scenes given its life-and-death theme.